Jared Goff sits, while Carson Wentz stars: What gives?

The quarterback who went No. 2 overall in this year's draft is 3-0, ranks sixth in the NFL in passer rating and has five touchdown passes without an interception.

The quarterback who went No. 1 overall in this year's draft hasn't played yet.

So what happened here? Did the Los Angeles Rams blow it with Jared Goff? Are the Philadelphia Eagles geniuses for trading up to No. 2 to selectCarson Wentz? Is Wentz a prodigy? Is Goff a bust???

Yeah, it's a hot-take world when it comes to quarterbacks, and everybody loves to jump to their favorite conclusions. In this case, it's not that simple. While Goff and Wentz will forever be linked due to their proximity at the top of the draft, their 2016 situations are anything but apples to apples.

Here's a key difference: The Minnesota Vikings didn't offer the Rams a first-round pick for their starting quarterback a week before the season. The Vikingsdid do that for the Eagles, which sent Sam Bradford to the upper Midwest and elevated Wentz to the starter's role.

While the Eagles weren't preparing Wentz to start Week 1 until that deal went down eight days before their opener, the fact remains that they did manage to sufficiently prepare him to start -- and play very well -- in September.

To hear the Eagles tell it, it wasn't that tough.

"(Coach Doug Pederson's) system, 80-85 percent of it is just what it takes to play quarterback in the NFL. It would be the same no matter who was in there," said Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich after the team's Week 3 victory over Pittsburgh. "That other 15-25 percent is the little nuances Doug put in there that work to Carson's strengths. Sam is a pure pocket passer. You're not going to do as much play-action stuff, as much movement-based stuff with Sam. So when Carson went in there, we added some stuff based around what he does well and what he's comfortable with, but basically the offense stayed the same."

At the time of the Bradford trade, people in the Eagles' building were saying Wentz was mentally ready for the job, due to the time he'd been putting in at the facility since May. They didn't know how that preparation would translate onto the field once the games counted for real, but they believed he was in a position to succeed.

"It's not too big for him, it's not too fast for him, because his mind can process all of it," Reich said.

Rams people say the same behind the scenes about Goff. Physically, sources say, they believe he could play now and compete. But they're reluctant to put him into a game in a situation in whichhe might not have success, and it's fair to say he has had more to learn than Wentz.

First of all, the system in which Goff played his college ball at Cal was not as close to a pro-style system as the one Wentz ran at North Dakota State. Andthe circumstances of the Rams' 2016 offense are more complex than the ones in which Wentz landed 3,000 miles farther East.

"I'm happy for young quarterbacks when they have success, but we have our own sense of timing here with him," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said in a news conference last week. "The quarterbacks are having success because of injuries. As I mentioned last week, had we not had the injuries that we did in the league, probably all four of those quarterbacks either would be inactive or backups."

This offseason, the Rams hired Mike Groh and gave him the title of passing game coordinator. They retained their offensive coordinator, Rob Boras. They also hired Chris Weinke as their new quarterbacks coach. The result of that coaching cocktail is not only a lot of voices in the room and in Goff's head but also a complicated mixture of an offense that's trying to blend what the Rams were doing under Fisher with some of the principles Groh learned while working under Adam Gase in Chicago the past couple of years.

"A big portion of the passing game this year was different," Rams starting quarterback Case Keenum said in a phone interview Wednesday. "Our protections are definitely a little bit different, and combining them with the concepts has been a challenge. Knowing who's hot on a particular play, when they're hot, the dropback game. ... There's been a lot of change, and it's a lot to process. But I think it's working pretty good."

Keenum takes responsibility for some of the offensive issues, saying, "I've missed a few throws with some guys running open." The Rams are 30th in the league in passing yards per game and last in completion percentage. Only three teams have fewer touchdown passes than the Rams' four.

They are 3-1, however, thanks in large part to a defense that has taken away the ball nine times and is holding opponents under 20 points per game. Keenum and the offense have largely protected the ball well, and they've done enough in spite of the growing pains.

So add up the surprisingly strong win/loss start and the fact that this offense is still putting itself together, and you can see why the Rams don't feel any rush to get Goff in there. It's entirely possible he's as ready as Wentz is. But the Bradford trade gave the Eagles a reason to elevate Wentz, and the complexities of the Rams' under-construction offense give L.A. reason to worry about Goff having too much on his plate if he does play.

Wentz's coaches in Philadelphia are all quarterbacks -- Pederson the head coach, Reich the coordinator and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo. Wentz is surrounded by people who speak his language, know what he's going through and communicate simply and on his level.

Groh and Weinke were quarterbacks, but neither had ever coached quarterbacks in the NFL until this season. Boras is a former offensive lineman, and Fisher's background is on defense.

That doesn't mean what the Eagles are doing is right or what the Rams are doing is wrong. What it tells you is that the situations in which Wentz and Goff find themselves at the outset of their careers are very different. It's easy to look at what has gone on so far -- Wentz lighting up the league, while Goff rides the bench -- and say they may have been picked in the wrong order, but it's important to remember there's a long way to go. A month does not make a career (or two careers).